March 22,
2007 @ 1:04 pm · Edit
Thanks for
the info. I still can’t believe the number of “premium” foods
produced by the same company.
March 22,
2007 @ 1:13 pm · Edit
Great job
at putting together all this information.
March 22,
2007 @ 2:05 pm · Edit
Hi Everyone,
This pet food recall has gotten a lot of attention and we don’t want it
to die. Dr. John Symes, our regular monthly contributor on Animal Talk Naturally
did a concise write up which is posted to our site today. He will be joining
us on Wednesday next week to discuss this food recall:
March 22,
2007 @ 3:20 pm · Edit
It appears
Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value pet food (Whole Foods’ private label) is
likely made by Menu Foods. This is from the WF website:
“On
March 16, 2007 a North American pet food recall was issued by Menu Foods for
cat and dog food manufactured in the “cuts and gravy” format between
December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The 365 Everyday Value Cat and Dog Foods
are not affected by this recall. We have confirmed with our manufacturer that
all of our products are safe from any similar contamination.”
Notice that
the statement doesn’t say their food is NOT made by Menu Foods but, rather,
that their food isn’t “affected” by the recall (in other words,
their foods are not on the recall list). This is a red flag that, in fact, Whole
Foods 365 wet food is made by Menu Foods. I VERY disappointed that Whole Foods,
number one, has not followed Trader Joe’s lead and voluntarily taken ALL
Menu Foods-manufactured food off their shelves, and, number two, that Whole
Foods would do business with Menu Foods in the first place, considering the
reports of inhumane treatment and conditions which exist in Menu Foods animal
testing practices. Whole Foods is always touting how they will not do business
with suppliers who do not treat their animals humanely, yet here they are …
doing biz with Menu Foods. It should also be noted that Whole Foods also carries
dog and cat food by Castor & Pollux–who also uses Menu Foods to manufacture
their wet food. I’d like to see Whole Foods act responsibly and ethically,
in the manner of Trader Joe’s. I left a lengthy message on their voicemail,
expressing my opinion. Anyone reading this who feels the same, please take a
minute of your time to call Whole Foods and let them know your feelings.
“Customers
with questions or concerns may contact the Whole Foods Market Private Label
customer service at 512.542.0656 or PrivateLabel.CustomerService@WholeFoods.com.”
March 22,
2007 @ 5:17 pm · Edit
What companies
like Whole Foods and Precise are NOT saying speaks volumes. For them to say
the information is confidential, or to skirt around the issue is much worse
than taking responsibility and speaking the truth. It seems to me they would
be quick to make an announcement if their products were not Menu Foods products.
March 22,
2007 @ 7:13 pm · Edit
[…]
A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions
and production dates is available on the Menu Foods Web site. If you own a dog
or cat and feed them wet food that has been bought between December 3rd to March
6th, take a moment to check this out to ensure your pet’s safety. Read
more about what’s NOT on this list by visiting: Pet Foods NOT on Recall
List at PetsitUSA.com […]
March 22,
2007 @ 10:19 pm · Edit
Ok, now if
the problem is due to a mold toxin, would heating the food offer any protection?
March 22,
2007 @ 10:57 pm · Edit
The latest
news sourced off of itchmo.com is
“So
far, the government and the pet food maker, which sells food under 91 brand
names, have confirmed 15 deaths. But the investigation to locate the toxic contaminant
that caused the kidney failure in animals has yet to point to a cause.
The usual
suspects, mold or a heavy metal, have already been eliminated.
“This
is very much like finding a needle in a haystack,” said Don Smith of the
Cornell Veterinary School. “We’re going to keep working at this
until we find the cause.”
Chemical
Involved?
Investigators
now look at the possibility that a pesticide or chemical may have been on the
wheat used in Menu Foods dog and cat food.
The Food
and Drug Administration, which was notified of the tainted food one day before
the recall, said it’s frustrated and realizes the growing crisis is an
emotional one.”
March 22,
2007 @ 10:59 pm · Edit
Oh and to
the question of heating if a mold toxin, my understanding is no. As maybe you
would kill the mold, but the poison chemical of the mold is still present. Perhaps
someone else can put a stamp on that.
March 23,
2007 @ 8:46 am · Edit
I have to
agree with Traci. Although I’m certainly no chemist, I doubt cooking the
food would do any good. After all, it’s gone through cooking when they
process it. And if that’s all people had to do, instead of recalling the
products, Menu Foods would be out there telling people to cook the food.
March 23,
2007 @ 11:09 am · Edit
What about
Pedigree? I was just on a web site where pet owners [myself inclued] all fed
our dogs Little Champions and have had the pet pass away from kidney failure
since January 2007. These dogs were otherwise all heathly until the symptoms
began. I tried to call Pedigree, however, their consumer phone line said to
call later - reps were busy!
March 23,
2007 @ 11:34 am · Edit
Diane,
I’ve
checked on the Menu Foods Recall list, as well as the Pedigree site to see if
there was any mention of Little Champions being on the list. At this point,
it looks like it is NOT on the recall list. However, as we’ve seen, that
list changes periodically. Please report the death to the FDA: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html
and have the other folks do the same.
I’ve
tried calling Pedigree and unfortunately, like you haven’t been able to
get through.
March 23,
2007 @ 12:59 pm · Edit
I ahve been
feeding wet Wellness Foods in Los Angeles to 3 cats. No problems at all.
March 23,
2007 @ 3:24 pm · Edit
The culprit
is now known to be a rat poison used on the wheat, imported from China.
Over 1,000
deaths now. (petconnection.com)
Does anyone
else wonder why the AAFCO (a division of the FDA) provide pet food companies
with a nice and neat certification of “complete and balanced nutrition”
when they admit they have limited resources - never ONCE visited the Menu Foods
plant, that produces all these foods? The regulation on the pet food industry
is virtually non-existent, yet they are allowed to make claims on their packaging
that has no research to back it up. A six month trial on six animals is enough
to put “complete and balanced nutrition” on the label?
Please join
us in telling your Senators that will not stand. Pet food industries should
be accountable to the same regulations other industries are - no claims unless
you have the research/controls to prove it.
http://www.mousabilities.com/nutrition/campaign.html
March 23,
2007 @ 3:40 pm · Edit
Some Wellness
foods are manufactured by Menu Foods. Not included in the recall, but I’d
rethink feeding Wellness if I were you. Apparently lots of “premium”
foods were made at the same plant, with the same cheap ingredients as store
brands. Seems like fraud to me!
March 23,
2007 @ 4:14 pm · Edit
Good Info
Here. Wellness told me that all of their canned food was done at MenuFoods.
I asked Newmans’ Own Organics who manufactured their products and where.
This is what they told me:
“Newman’s
Own Organics pet foods are not part of the mass recall by MenuFoods. We do not
sell “cuts and gravy” style foods in cans or pouches or use wheat
gluten as a source of protein.
We do, however,
work very hard to qualify our suppliers and build
long-term relationships that enable us to provide dogs and cats with
healthful organic nutrition derived from the highest quality human-grade
ingredients.
We are bound
by confidentiality agreements with our suppliers and
manufacturers because of the highly competitive nature of our industry.
I wish I could add to this statement, but I simply cannot say any more,
except that NOO pet foods are not part of the current Menu recall.
L. Phillips
Brown, DVM
Newman’s Own Organics
Peggy Westenhofer
Director of Customer Relations
Newman’s Own Organics
831-685-2866″
So, You can
make your own guess as to whether they use MenuFoods.
March 23,
2007 @ 5:08 pm · Edit
Has anyone
had any animals get sick from canned food not on the recall list? I believe
that I have. I had 2 cats that have had the symptoms described. One died, one
recovered. The food they were eating was Iams slow cooked chicken in the blue
and orange can. This is NOT a cuts and gravy product.
I am trying to find out if maybe the problem may be more widespread than we
are being told, since they kept it under wraps for awhile, before the recall.
March 23,
2007 @ 5:34 pm · Edit
The tuna
cat food sold by Trader Joe’s is not mentioned in TJ’s recall. This
is a food that I use for my cat, and there’s no wheat in it. It’s
labeled as a Product of Thailand. I think it’s manufactured differently
and isn’t from Menu Food.
By now, most
people should have heard that the suspected toxin is a rat poison in wheat imported
from China. The implicated rat poison is illegal in the USA and thus should
not be a concern for food containing domestic wheat products. I’m thinking
that pet food that doesn’t have any wheat in it is probably not affected,
but if owners have wet or DRY pet food that does have wheat in it and you don’t
know if the wheat was grown domestically, I wouldn’t use it at this time.
The contaminated wheat from China could possibly have found its way into other
kinds of pet food.
March 23,
2007 @ 6:15 pm · Edit
You state
that Innova Evo (Natura Pets product) wet food is made by Menu Foods, but I
cannot find this information anywhere else. What is your source for this information?
I realize
this brand isn’t impacted by the recall, but I will not patronize any
company who does business with Menu Foods after this debacle. I am also concerned
about cross contaimination in the processing equipment.
March 23,
2007 @ 6:35 pm · Edit
Lynne,
The info
comes from company websites, conversations I’m having with many of the
companies, as well as research a handful of other individuals are doing. I just
called Natura after seeing your message. I wanted to confirm the info as it
had been given to me by one of the other people I’m working with. The
information was verified, plus I got a little bit more info:
* Brands
include Innova, Evo, California Natural, Healthwise, Mother Nature, Karma Organic
* Manufacture their own dry food, using their own formulas
* They use only US suppliers - no ingredients come from China or other foreign
countries.
* They use no corn or wheat products (including wheat gluten)
* Wet foods made by Menu Foods (S. Dakota plant) but not involved in the recall.
March 23,
2007 @ 6:51 pm · Edit
Thank you,
Therese. Did they specifically state that the ingredients used in their Menu
Foods products are strictly from US suppliers, or is that just the foods they
manufacture themselves? Also, did you ask them about cross-contamination risks
in the processing equipment at Menu Foods? I realize Innova Evo wet has no wheat
products whatsoever, but if they are processing in the same equipment as foods
that do, there is at least a miniscule risk of contamination, and that, to me,
is unacceptable.
I have 22
cans of Evo I’m unwilling to feed my cats. That is probably paranoia,
but I just read an article on CNN that the date codes are no longer valid in
the recall and that ALL dates are impacted, which means the problem is more
widespread than was initially thought…
March 23,
2007 @ 7:25 pm · Edit
I would like
to know why Kumpi pet foods have not been added to this section of your web
site as NOT on recall foods?
Not only
has it been written up in Whole Dog Journal but many other holistic publications.
Additionally, the K9 Units of The New York State Canine Handling Unit, The United
Nations K9 Ambassador Security Detail, The Metro Transit Authority in NYC all
feed Kumpi Pet Foods. They all cannot be wrong!
I have personally
met the owner of this company. They use state of the art technology and have
quality control in place that exceeds the expectations of the FDA. It is a family
owned/operated facility, an APHIS plant and also an NIB plant as well (google
and you’ll find neat stuff.)
The nutritionist of 35 years they have hired told the owner of Kumpi Pet Foods
from the beginning that canned food was too risky to do safely not to mention
the lack of nutrition and lack of health benefits.
Evy Serpa
is a hands on manufacture who visits the plant on a regular, visits the place
that the ingredients come from and knows each employee by name. She formulated
this line of pet food because her dog died of cancer at age five. Because she
wanted complete knowledge of her pets dietary intake, she hired a premiere multi-species
nutritionist and then scrutinized the independent pet food label manufacturing
facilities. Safety and absolute control are the at the core of this company’s
ethics!
Kumpi is
an AAFCO product, manufactured by a plant that is registered with the Animal
& Plant Health Inspection Service, and is voluntarily inspected by The National
Institute of Bakers. There are not many if ANY pet food manufactures that would
self impose that type of quality control.
Running a
rescue for over 25 years and along with my own pets, I switched pet foods as
soon as I spoke with her. I would never feed either my personal pets or the
rescue dogs any other food since Kumpi is the only brand I trust. Kumpi Pet
Foods is not the type of place that says, email us. Evy Serpa personally calls
each person and will spend hours on the phone with them answering any questions
or concerns they have.
I feel it
is very remiss to exclude such a quality company like Kumpi and would like to
see them added to your list of NOT on recall.
Everyone
should visit the Kumpi web site at www.kumpi.com
March 23,
2007 @ 8:34 pm · Edit
White Sun
- Thanks for posting on the Kumpi food. I was all gung-ho and visited the website,
saw the #1 ingredient was corn. Corn, of all things. So much for that, with
a dog who has allergies.
I am wondering
about PetGuard, contacted the company by phone today after hearing they were
dodging inquiries as to where their wet food was processed. Said they would
get back to me, never did. Sounds like they manufacture at Menu Foods too —
saying they don’t manufacture there would have been on a script by the
phone.
With a neurotoxin,
I am not interested in feeding my animals anything that was in the building.
Period.
Lynne, I
am taking back my Evo tomorrow. I have a good relationship with a family owned
feed store, assume they will be fine with it. Back to raw / home made. Ultimately,
supporting local family farms would be the right thing to do for all our food
supplies. For a lot of reasons.
Good luck
to all and heartfelt support to all those with sick animals tonight.
March 23,
2007 @ 8:55 pm · Edit
Susan,
FWIW, from
http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/6570572.html:
“Menu Foods’ three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than
1
billion containers of wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made
at company plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.”
The Innova
Evo is manufactured at the Menu Foods plant in S.Dakota, according to Natura.
Good luck
with going back to homemade/raw. I know that’s a tough process to get
just right, so be careful.
I want to
echo Susan’s good wishes to everyone with sick animals. My heart goes
out to all of you and your beloved pets.
March 23,
2007 @ 9:35 pm · Edit
What about
Hills Prescription Diet????? My 4 year old cat has bladder crystals (oxlate)
and was put on diet of Hills Prescription X/D . She did not like the dry…..so
bought the wet at $1.00 a can from the vet. She was not crazy about it either.
My other 2 cats however were not picky, and would eat just about anything that
did not move. We tried to keep them away from her special food, but they ended
up eating more of it than she did……Now they are both dead, and she
is still dealing with kidney/bladder issues, but have given up on the prescription
food and have gone to handmade receipes…..maybe we saved her life????
March 23,
2007 @ 10:06 pm · Edit
We currently
feed our cats “Nutrience” food from the Pets Unlimited here (not
to say we won’t change). Regardless, their site says they are completely
safe.
“IMPORTANT
ANNOUNCEMENT!
As you’ve probably already heard, Menu Foods has recalled millions of
‘cuts and gravy’ style pet food in cans and pouches due to several
pet deaths in the last few days. The problem has been seemingly traced to one
specific supplier and one specific ingredient - wheat gluten.
- Nutrience
dog and cat canned foods are NOT produced by Menu Foods.
- Our manufacturer has assured us they DON’T use the supplier in question.
- Our foods contain NO wheat gluten and are formulated with human-grade meat
only.
- The Nutrience team is confident our foods are safe. “
March 23,
2007 @ 10:07 pm · Edit
“Some
Wellness foods are manufactured by Menu Foods. Not included in the recall, but
I’d rethink feeding Wellness if I were you. Apparently lots of “premium” foods
were made at the same plant, with the same cheap ingredients as store brands.
Seems like fraud to me!”
According
to someone I spoke with at Mudbay Granary in Seattle (Pet Store), Wellness is
made at different facility where they use human grade production standards/ingredients.
http://www.mudbaygranary.com/recall/statements.htm
March 24,
2007 @ 8:18 am · Edit
The FDA New
York State and Cornell Veterinary School Diagnostic laboratories had a press
conference. It is available for view on the internet. They have NOT isolated
the problem to wheat…only to whole cat food samples supplied by Menu Foods
to Cornell. These samples contained 4 ppm of aminopterin. There is no real data
to support that this toxin causes renal failure so it may be one tiny piece
of the puzzle. The labs expect to have many more press conferences.
March 24,
2007 @ 10:13 am · Edit
I just called
the premium companies that we purchase food from for our three dogs and three
cats and here are the results of my conversations:
Artemis -
all ingredients are from the USA except New Zealand lamb. They test every batch
and submit a sample to the USDA for testing.
Merrick -
all American ingredients. They have a quality control department that inspects
samples from every batch and a lab that tests all of their products.
Wellness
- A representative actually called me back twice and emailed me with information
that said that they carefully oversee the production of all of their products
and purchase ingredients only from the US and Canada. Here is an excerpt from
his email:
“While
we do have some of our products made at Menu Foods, we do not use the specific
ingredient that has caused the recall to take place. In addition, we have strict
cleaning procedures in place to prevent cross-contamination.
Thank you
for those great questions! We are happy to tell you that we require our facilities
to pass an audit by Cook & Thurber, a HUMAN FOOD auditing firm. They have
a great website that explains what they do and their strict requirements. They
can be found at www.cookandthurber.com
Menu Foods
manufactures the food. Generally, the customer – the Brand – is the one who
conducts the testing on the product. ”
Innova -
They have their own facilities for dry food. Their canned food that is manufactured
by Menu Foods is manufactured at a facility in South Dakota and it is not one
of the facilities that is having the recall. They use no foreign ingredients
except New Zealand lamb. They claim to have strict quality controls and all
food is tested extensively before the product is used.
Solid Gold
- I did not speak to them but their website offers enough information to satisfy
me. They manufacture their food in their own plant and use carefully selected
ingredients.
Wysong- This
was the only company that did not answer my questions. The rep did inform me
that the two types of canned food they use Menu Foods for are the Au Jus line
and the Stew and Gravy but that they were not affected by the recall. I asked
her where their ingredients were purchased and what sort of quality control
process they used but she refused to give me answers. She became rather testy
and continued to repeat her scripted responses.
I hope that
this list will help some of you make decisions on food choices for your babies.
My heart and prayers go out to all of you who have been tragically affected
by this horrible situation.
March 24,
2007 @ 11:02 am · Edit
This link
http://www.mudbaygranary.com/recall/statements.htm
posted above by Tracy says that Natural Balance foods are made by Menu Foods,
which contradicts the information you posted above. Also, the Natural Balance
website says none of their foods are manufactured by any company associated
with the pet food recall.
As crazy
as this thing is getting, I’m seeing some confusing, or contradictory
information. I WAS feeding my two dogs NB Duck & Potato food (dry)….I
recently transitioned to Candidae dry (before the recall). I’m not sure
I want to buy any food from a company who deals with Menu Foods.
I know the
latest is that they THINK rat poison on wheat imported from China has something
to do with the problem, but it sounds like this may only be one piece of the
puzzle. For the life of me, I can’t understand why they need to import
wheat from CHINA to put into dog food made in a plant in KS! What’s wrong
with good ol’ American-grown wheat? Isn’t it a bit closer to KS
than CHINA??? The only reason I can think of is $$$$ and I really can’t
even figure that out since I would think the cost of transportation would be
quite large.
March 24,
2007 @ 11:20 am · Edit
I’ve
read in several places that Purina One and/or Purina Pro Plan are made in China.
Is this true? Where does it say that?
thanks
March 24,
2007 @ 1:09 pm · Edit
The response
from Wellness seems to be a form-letter response, as I’ve seen it before.
In any case, WELLNESS states: :
“While
we do have some of our products made at Menu Foods, we do not use the specific
ingredient that has caused the recall to take place.”
As a former
WELLNESS customer, I am outraged that I have been buying dry and wet pet food
touted as ‘human grade’ that may in fact have been produced by MENU
INC., an animal abusive company from which human grade anything is unlikely
to emerge.
March 24,
2007 @ 1:09 pm · Edit
ziwipeak
being from New Zealand is also ok.
March 24,
2007 @ 3:20 pm · Edit
I checked
out the Kumpi website and there is no way I’m paying that much for a food
where the first ingredient is corn. Corn is a filler, an not neccesary.
March 24,
2007 @ 3:59 pm · Edit
How safe
is the dry food C/D sold unikly by the vetrinarians? I am worry that at some
point will have some ugly surprise.
We do not trust anymore anybody!
March 24,
2007 @ 4:06 pm · Edit
Yes, does
everybody know that menu has a horrid history of lab testing (see peta’s
site) and the fact that they tested the food on many “lab” animals
that resulted in deaths atests to their inhumane approach. I’m sure there
were ways to test the food itself instaed of feeding it to the porr caged dogs
and cats that were their guinea pigs and seeing how many died and suffered before
they took reports of toxicity seriously enough to recall the food. This is a
wake up call to “pet lovers” everywhere to be more cognizent of
the realities of animal abuse and the origins of pet food. Shame on the pet
food industry that deceived us en masse. So many paying extra thinking their
food was healthy and finding out half of it was the same stuff with different
names and prices! And made by evil profiteers at Meni Foods, who are, as I pointed
out ,anything but animal lovers.
March 24,
2007 @ 4:44 pm · Edit
I just wanted
you all to know that AFFCO is not part or a division of the FDA - AFFCO is a
*private* entity and who sits on the Board is Nestle, Purina, Hills (I can’t
remember all the parent companies) with ONE FDA representative. AFFCO is the
biggest hooey there is short of HSUS. It’s the wolf gaurding the hen house…
March 24,
2007 @ 5:58 pm · Edit
From the
mudbaygranary.com/recall/statements.htm
Breeder’s
Choice (makers of Avoderm and Pinnacle)
None of the Breeder’s Choice foods are involved in the recall.
None of the Breeder’s Choice formulas contain any of the ingredients in question.
Cat canned loaf formulas only are made at the Menu plant in Emporia KS. These
include Avo Beef, Avo Chicken, Avo Ocean Fish, Pinnacle Chicken and Ocean Fish,
Pinnacle Chicken and Tuna, Pinnacle Ocean Fish.
All other formulas, including all AvoDerm Canine canned and Pinnacle Canine
canned formulas are made in plants other than Menu.
None of the Pinnacle formulas, and none of the AvoDerm canned formulas contain
wheat.
March 24,
2007 @ 6:25 pm · Edit
I’m
confused. This site says that Natural Balance canned food is not manufactured
at Menu but the Mud Bay site says it is. Any definitive answer here?
Thanks in
advance.
March 24,
2007 @ 6:38 pm · Edit
I am trying
toi find out some of the real organic dog foods are. I saw some at the store
called Natural life and whole foods 365 dog food. Are these legitiment organic
dog foods ?
Thanks, Sharon
Strong
March 24,
2007 @ 6:47 pm · Edit
I feed my
dogs Castor & Pollux Natural Ultra mix dry, and
Natural Balance Turkey Roll, and once in a while the lamb roll.
I read that Castor and Pollux dry is safe, but have seen nothing on the Natural
Balance roll food.
Natural Balance dry and canned was addressed but not the roll food. Does anyone
feed that and does anyone know of it’s safety?
March 24,
2007 @ 6:52 pm · Edit
I’m
wondering just how far back this tainted food goes. My little Yorkie became
deathly ill overnight back on October 30, 2006. He was old, so I thought that
“it was his time” and took him to the vet. They agreed that he was
too sick to bring back and euthanasia was our only option. Then two weeks later,
my poodle became deathly ill. She’s only four, and when I took her to
the vet they thought that she had been poisoned. She spent two days in the hospital,
and with a lot of fluids and medication, she’s still with me. She normally
eats dry food, but I had a can of Mighty Dog (which is what the Yorkie ate)
so I mixed some in her dry food the night before she got sick. It just seems
like an odd coincidence. I was feeding her Nutro dry, but I really don’t
know what to feed her now. I bought a bag of Beneful today, but I’m thinking
about fixing her an omelet or something! Do we REALLY know what is safe and
what isn’t?